Forbidden Kiss
by Anna Scathach
Summary: Arty has married Minerva. What happens when Holly wants to take a quick look at his life a few years later? AH, some AM... songfic oneshot.


A/N: That's my oneshot inspired by the song "Verbotener Kuss" (Forbidden Kiss) by the German folk rock band Schandmaul.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl. I don't own Verbotener Kus either. All that's mine is the plot and the song translation.

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Stolen kiss

Long time, no see.

Holly Short flew over the deep blue waters of the Irish Sea. She inhaled deeply. How she had missed this. Over the years one almost forgot how wonderful flying on the surface was. The tunnel air was nothing against this fresh salty feeling when inhaling. The elf recognized a flowery smell, lilies perhaps. And then, she remembered…

It had been almost a decade ago. Holly had still worked as an LEP officer for Commander Julius Root then. One day, a mudboy genius had kidnapped her to steal the fairy ransom fund. After her release, she had met him again a few times. And the little mudboy grew up… Holly had stopped working with him when she noticed a change in her own behavior. Apparently, though she didn't see the slightest hint why, she had fallen in love with said genius. His name was Artemis Fowl II.

The day she said her final goodbye had been really sad. Maybe the mudboy had also fallen for her after all. But it was too late. In spite of her want, of her need to stay, Holly left. When she flew home with tears freely running down her cheeks, the air had smelled just barely noticeable like lilies.

It had been exactly the same scent that she smelled now, sweet and tender, but melancholic nevertheless. The scent woke old desires in her body and mind. It made her desperately want to see her old friend only once. What harm could a quick peek do? As Foaly's suits for Section 8 had been redesigned and improved by the centaur himself twice, Artemis wouldn't discover her.

Twenty minutes later.

Holly was heading towards Fowl Manor. Bright sunlight warmed her skin, multiple birds were chanting joyfully, all in all, it was a perfect day above ground. But that made matters even worse. The last time the former LEP captain had had such a beautiful day was when she could still pretend there might be a future with Artemis. Of course it had later been her own decision to quit Ireland aboveground business, but it didn't imply Holly didn't regret afterwards. She always knew she'd pay him a visit one day. And it was today of all days that the single thought that had kept her sane for so many years would be transformed to reality. She would finally see him. Such a long time… had he changed? Had he finally grown up? Had he… married? Holly grunted at the sheer idea. Artemis would most certainly never find a suitable bride. Unless... unless what she saw deep down below her was true. Anyway, it was possibly just a hallucination of some kind. Holly saw Artemis, three little children and a pretty woman laughing in the garden. There were the Butlers, too. Domovoi Butler, an unknown mudman and Juliet, visibly pregnant. The elf felt envy at the sight of the happy couples. For Frond's sake, why couldn't she have fallen for a nice decent elf? Trouble Kelp, for example, had made various attempts to ask her out. Holly had always been the odd-one-out. First, she had been friends with mud people, then fled from the entire world altogether. None of her former friends knew her nowadays, except Foaly, of course, since she was forced to work with him.

So here she was. Her whole life seemed to be balancing on a small path. Every moment she could tumble and fall. Falling would be deadly, she knew. Life would never be worth living afterwards. But she enjoyed the experience. Although seeing him with his wife had caught her a little off guard, she never felt better since the beginning of this fateful event. It was either the end or the beginning. She hoped it would be the latter. Whatever might happen, Holly was determined to finish what she had started once when she fell in love with Artemis, a mudboy genius.

Until sunset the former LEP captain watched the happy families playing in the garden. When night began to fade above Ireland's green hills and Fowl Manor was covered in darkness, Holly slowly approached one particular window. She knew the artificial light in there weren't switched off before noon. She knew his habits all too well. Shocking how they had never changed during her absence. Then Holly flew directly in front of Artemis's window. Finally she was able to look at him closely. Time had been nice to him. Raven hair longer than once, sparkling eyes, perfect features, pale skin, tall build; the mudman right in front of her currently reading some financial journal was gorgeous - even by the People's standards dead sexy. Her imagination had created a more ugly idea of him to prevent her from still loving him, but here he was, irresistible. She couldn't fight the urge to get closer, so she carefully opened the window and entered. The invitation had been spoken many years ago, but it was valid nonetheless. Holly was glad he hadn't taken it back although she wondered if he wanted her to come back.

Regaining courage, she flew forward and then flipped in the visible spectrum. Holly placed a hand on Artemis's shoulder, as if she wanted to turn him around, and kissed him. He tasted great, she noticed, mint and a slight trace of dark chocolate. Then she couldn't think anymore because, to her surprise, he was kissing her back. Holly melted until her whole world was filled with hot orange flames. Nothing mattered but each other. However, after what felt like several hours of kissing, the female elf broke away. She regretted it the next instant, but she turned hastily and flew away. The fairy didn't look back to the mudman she was in love with.

Flying away, she heard a whisper behind her. "I loved you, too, Holly." And then she was gone.

_I have stolen a kiss from you_

_You must come and get it back_

_I've caught your lips so sweetly_

_Your mouth was just tempting_

_I let my fingers wander purposeless_

_You've got a lover at home_

_Shall I or shall I not?_

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A/N: Please review! Thanks a lot.


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